Two button switch



May 25, 19.43. E, G GA'YNOR 2,320,072

TWO BUTTON SWITCH 2 Sheets-Sheet l I FiledDec. 6, 1940 :6 36 30 27 31 32% 3 56 y Y 1 15 J6/I6 INVENTOR EDWIN Cz. IAYNOR,

May 25, 1943. E. G. GAYNOR 2,320,072

' TWO BUTTON SWITCH Filed Dec. 6, 1940 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6% i p v 4/ (91 mag 20 INVENTOR EDWIN G GAYNQR Peientedivlay as. race Z BZQWZ UNITED STATES J 2.32am

Two Bp'r'rori swrron Edwin G. Gaynor, Fail-field, Conn assignor to The Wheeler Insulated Wire Company, Bridgeport, Conn, a corporation oi! Connecticut Application December 6, 1940, Serial No. 368,747

7 Claims. (01. 200-5) This invention relates to newand useful im- At one end the body E in its upper edge is provements in fluorescent lighting apparatus and provided with a spaced pair of notches l and I6 has particular relation-to a switch for the control opening through its end wall and receiving leads FFEE of fluorescent lamps. l1 and it which at 'theirinnerends are connected The objects and advantages of the invention 5 with contact elementsiil and respectively. asv'ill become apparent from a consideration of Notches l5 and it accommodate the leads when thejo'llowing detaileddescrlption taken in conthe cover it is in place, it being understood that nction with the accompanying drawings wherethe cover lies fiat against the upper edges of the in a satisfactory embodiment of the invention body. In the bottom wall of each of the notches shown. However, it is to be understood that it) is a socket 2| and these sockets snugly receive the invention is not limited to the details diseyelets 22 formed at the ends of the contact closed but includes all such variations and modifielements and snugly embracing the inner ends cations as fall within the spirit of the invention I of the leads ii and I8.

and the scope of the appended claims. Extending inwardly of the body through the In the drawings 15 end wall thereof from each socket 2i isa channel Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the switch of the 23 and these channels snugly receive theshank invention; a portions and 26 respectively of thecontact Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of said switch; elements l9 and 20. Thus since the eyelets 22 I Fig. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of the are snugly received in the sockets 2| and since switch body and contacts the cover and the push- 20 the shanks of the contact elements are snugly buttons of the switch being omitted; received in the channels 23 it will be understood Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken as along the that the contact elements are mounted in the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 3; body without the aid of any secondary securing Fig. 5 is a similar view taken as along the means, such as screws or the like. The contact plane of the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; elements are simply wedged in the proper places Fig. 6 is a perspective view, on an enlarged provided for them in the body and no other fasscale, of a contact employed; toning or securingmeans are used or required.

Fig. .7 is an enlarged sectional view taken as In addition to its shank 26 the element 20 along the plane of the line 1'! of Fig. 1; includes a short arm portion carrying a contact Fig. 8 is a similar view taken as along the point 27. Element le includes a relatively long plane of the line 8-8 of Fig. 1; yielding or spring arm 28 passing transversely Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the cover and of the body. to and which has its free end disparts carried thereby with the off push-button posed to one side of the contact point 21 and latched in open circuit position; itself carries a contact point 29. The construc- Fig. 10 is an elevational view taken as looking tion is such that the contact points 21 and 29 from the lower edge of Fig. 9; are normally in engagement whereby the pair of Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 9 but with the elements 49 and 24! comprise normally closed off push-button released and in normal or switch elements. Spring arm 28 is adapted to closed circuit position; be sprung or cforced from the full line to the Fig. 12 is an elevational viewtaken as looking 6 dotted line position of Fig. 3 thereby to space from the lower edge of Fig. 11; and the points 2? and 2e and open any circuit through Fig. 13 is a wiring diagram. them.

Referring in detail to the drawings the switch The other end wall of body Ill is, in its upper of the invention comprises a body generally desedge. provided with four notches numbered re ignated l0 and made of electrical insulating ma- 45 spectively 30, 3!, 32 and 33 and arranged in terial such as rubber, porcelain or a plastic, for pairs. In the bottom wall of each of the men example, a condensation plastic although it will tioned notches is a well-like socket 34 from the be appreciated that any suitable electrical insuinner side of which extends a channel 35. The

lating material may be used. The body I0 is notches receive the leads 36, 37, 3B and 39 whereelongated and rather shallow and in the com- 5 by the latter do not interfere with the proper fit plete switch the open upper side of the body is of the cover it on the upper side of the body closed by a cover H held in place in any suitable when the complete switch is assembled. Leads manner as by bolts l2 passing through the cover 36, 31, 38 and 39 are connected with contact eleand openings 23 in the body and threaded into ments 0, Al, 42 and 43 respectively of which the nuts I4. 66 contact elements and -43 are identical while the elements it and 52 are identical. It will be noted that the identical contact elements are arranged in reverse relation to one another.

Elements (it and 63 each include a shank portion it one end (if which is bent into an eyelet 65 receiving the inner end of a lead as possibly condensers ti and 52 are interposed between the U-shaped portions of the elements and the side walls of the body. In the described way the elements ii? and 32 are secured in place in the body iii without the use of secondary means it being merely necessary to force the eyelets into the sockets 3t and the shanks dd into the channels 35 made to receive them.

Contact elements iii and :32 each include a shank 53 one end of which is bent into an eyelet 5G snugly receiving the inner end of one of the leads 3i! and 38. Toward their other ends the elements carry contact points 55 and it is noted that the arrangement is such that these points are normally spaced from contact points d? but are adapted to be engaged therewith as suggested by the dotted lines in Fig. 3. All of the contact elements are of the same material having the ability to flex whenthatjs necessary; Elements ii and 32 have their eyelets snugly received in the proper sockets 3t and have their shanks snugly received in the proper channels 35. In this way the elements are secured in place in the body it without the use of screws or other separate fastening means. At each end of the body it inclined wall portions 56 lead to the upper open ends of the channels 25 and 3'5 respectively. These inclines serve to guide the shank portions .of the contact elements into the channels when the switch is being assembled.

Condensers 5i and 52 are snugly reeived in pockets 5'! and 58 respectively, located within the body it. Thus the condensers are contained within the switch and protected from physical damage during handling and form an assembled unit with the switch. In addition to the exten= sions Q9 and 50 the condensers 5i and 52 are provided with extensions 59 and till respectively. As extensions 39 and 50 are clamped against side walls of the body it by the U-shaped portions of the elements 6t and it so also are the extensions 59 and t0 clamped against wall portions of the body by the contact elements it and 2t. Thus it will be seen that condenser 5i is electrically connected at all times with the elements is and 80 while the condenser 52 is at all times electrically connected with the elements 20 and 53. These condensers serve to suppress radio interference from a fluorescent lamp or lamps with which the switch is used.

The switch of the invention is operated by manual means and in the drawings a push-button 6! is shown for operating the contact elements 4! and t2 and may be described as the starting or on push-button while a similar push-button 62 is provided for moving the element i9 in one direction and this may be described as the off or stop button. Buttons BI and 62 extend through the cover ii and at the inner side thereof button 8! is provided with an enlargement or head 68 while the button 62' is provided with a similar head til. As shown these heads are somewhat in the shape of truncated cones whereby they have or include portions having inclined side walls.

Sockets opening through the inner ends of the buttons 6i and 62 partly receive coilsprings t5 and 5% respectively and these springs tend to hold the buttons in positions with their heads against the under side of the cover ii and constantly tend to move such buttons back to the mentioned positions when moved therefrom. From the drawings it will be clear that on the push-button ti being depressed against the tendency of coil spring the headtt of said button will engage'the contacts it and 62. As the head is forced between said contacts its inclined wall portions move the .contacts away from one another and bring the contact points 55 into engagement with the contact points All of the elements it and 53'. When button ti is depressed as described and then released it is immediately returned to normal position by the spring 65 and the contact elements it and 52 are then free and return to their normal positions spacing points 55 from points (ii.

Similarly as button 62 is depressed against the tendency of spring 66 the inclined portions of head 66 engage contact element it, as sug gested by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and cam or spring said contact in a direction to carry its point 29 away from the point 21 of the element 26. On button 62 being thereafter released spring it returns it to normal position and the element it returns to normal position returning point 29 to engagement with point 27. Thus it will be understood that the contacts It and 26 comprise parts of a normally closed switch whereas the pairs of elements it and ti and 32 and 63 comprise parts of normally open switches.

It is also noted that the coil springs 65 and 6t simply engage the bottom wall of the body it and are simply partly received in the sockets which open through the inner ends of the pushbuttons. From this it will be understood that the assembly requires only that the push-buttons be inserted through the cover H from the inner side thereof, the springs be dropped into the sockets in the push-buttons and thereafter the cover secured to the body. This is best accomplished by holding the cover in inverted position and disposing the body thereon.

Mounted on the cover ii and disposed or located against the inner surface thereof is a latch means generally designated 67. As shown the latch is somewhat in the form of a bell-crank and includes a body 68 pivoted to the cover as by a rivet or the like 69. One arm it of the latch is slightly off-set inwardly while the other arm ll includes a depending inclined extension 72. A spring 72 has one end it anchored to the cover ii and has its other end 15 secured to the arm ii of the latch. Thus spring 13 constantly tends l to rock the latch about its pivot 69 in a direction to carry latch arm ill towardbutton head 66 and latch arm H toward button head 53.

' When the off push-button 62 is in normal position the latch arm 70 is against the inclined head of such button as shown best in Fig. 12 and when the push-button Si is in normal position the latch arm 1! has its extension 72 approximately against the inclined head of said button as best shown in Fig. 10. With both of the pushbuttons in what is herein described as their normal positions a fluorescent lamp controlled by the herein disclosed switch is energized or lighted. Now to extinguish the lamp the pushbutton 62 is depressed. This results in flexing of element l9 as to the dotted line position of Fig. 3 with the result that contact point 29 is carried away from contact point 21 opening the circuit between such points and extinguishing the lamp.

On push-button 62 being depressed as described the upper side of its head 64 was carried below the latch arm with the result that the spring 13 rocked the said latch about its pivot 66 carrying the arm 10 into a position above the push-button head'as best shown in Fig. 10. Now push-button 62 is locked or latched in a depressed position and thus retains the contact points 21 and 29 in spaced relation. To again start a lamp controlled by my improved switch itI is but necessary to depress the push-button 6 This results in flexing of the contact elements 4| and 42 and the closing of the circuits as above suggested. In additionas push-button 6| is depressed its inclined head portion 63 engages the extension 12 of the latch arm H and having a cam-like action thereon rocks the latch about its pivot in opposition to the tendency of the spring 16 with the result that the latch arm 10 is withdrawn from above the push-button head 64 and the spring 66 associated with such push-button acts to return the same to normal position permitting the contact element l9 to return to normal position and bring contact point into engagement with contact point 21.

Referring now to the diagram of Fig. 13 at 16 and 11 are shown two fluorescent lamps connected in circuit to be controlled by the switch of the invention. Lamp 16 includes filaments I6 and 19 while lamp TI includes similar filaments 60 and 8|. Leads from a suitable source of current are shown at 62. and 63 and the contact elements of my switch included in the circuit are given the same identifying numerals as above. From lead 62 a line 64 including a choke coil 85 connects with filament 16 while a line 66 including a choke coil 61 connects with the filae ment 80. From filament 18 a line 86 connects with contact element 43 and a similar line 69 connects filament 60 with contact element 46. Lines 90 and 9| connect contact elements 42 and 4| with the filaments 19 and 6| respectively and such filaments are connected by line 62 with contact element 20 whose companion contact element I8 is connected with the lead 66.

Now if it be assumed that the lamps l6 and 11 are in use and it is desired to extinguish them the push-button 62 is depressed to move element l6 from element 20 and thus open the lamp circuits. latched in that position by latch arm 16 as above described. To again energize the lamps the pushbutton 6| is depressed and moves the elements 4| and 42 into engagement with the elements 46 and 46 respectively and at the same time rocks the latch 61 to a position releasing the pushbutton 62 so that it is returned to normal position and the element I6 is permitted to return to engagement with element 20.

The circuits then may be described as through connections 64 and 66 to filaments l6 and 66, respectively, through connections 66 and 66 to elements 43 and 40 respectively, connections 66 and 6| to filaments I6 and 6| respectively, through line 62 to element 26 and through ele- When'the button is depressed it will be I ment l6 to line 63. Thus the circuit is completed through the lamps and this circuit is maintained while the push-button 6| is retained in depressed position. The said button is held depressed only long enough to have the filaments heat up the mercury of the lamps to a vapor and then on .the push-button being released the circuit is through the mercury vapor from filaments 18 and to the filaments l9 and 6| respectively. The return at this time is through the line 92 and switch elements I! and 26 as previously described.- To again extinguish the lamps the push-button 62 is depressed opening contact elements l6 and 20.

The latch 61 constitutes means to maintain the line circuit open when the lamps are not in use. When the switch is to be used with a single lamp one pair of the normally open contacts may be omitted. Fluorescent lamps are sensitive to transient voltages in the line due to loads on the line at distant places and also due to lightning. These transient voltages are apt to cause the lamps to glow slightly and sometimes to fully light if the line circuit of the lamp is not maintained open when the lamp is not in use. Thus I have the latching means above set forth and including the latch 61.

Heretofore in these fluorescent lamp circuits the condenser, which is put in parallel with the lamp in order to suppress radio interference from the lamp, has been put directly across the switch in the starting circuit. In this position the condenser is frequently subjected to an extremely high momentary voltage. I have arranged the condenserso that this condition is softened. These condensers are necessarily small in physical dimensions and will only withstand a moderate voltage. A high voltage might rupture the condenser and the lamp would then not light. It will be noted in Fig. 13 that the filaments 18 and 60 are in series with the condensers 52 and 5| respectively when the starting switches (contact elements 40, 4|, 42 and 43) are open. Thus any high transient voltage generated at the starting switches is checked by the filament resistance and its full force does not act on the condensers. This is important.

Attention is a so directed to the fact that I have provided a shallow construction of switch. This is very desirable in switches for the present purpose. The movable contact elements of the pres ent switch are all adapted for lateral movements to and from circuit clos'ng positions and therefore the body l0 need not include any extra depth to allow for the circuit opening and closing movements of the contact elements. The flat surfaces of the contact elements are all parallel with the sides of the body I!) and are all given movements toward and from the sides of the body as the circuits are opened and closed.

It is another feature of the present switch that all contact elements as well as the push-buttons and condensers are mounted without the use of soldering, welding, clamping by screws, bolts, or other secondary means. These various parts are simply pushed into place. After the contact elements are in the body and the latch is on the cover and the push-buttons are disposed through the openings provided in the cover, the body is disposed on the cover and the parts secured together by the above described nuts I4 and bolts Having thus set forth the nature of myinvention, what I claim is:

1. In a switch, a body of insulating material, two pairs or contact elements in said body and of which one pair is normally open and the other pair normally closed, one contact element of each of said pairs including a shank, a pocket in said body, a condenser snugly fitting in said pocket, and leads on said condenser extending therefrom and urged into good electrical engagement with the respective shanks to series connect said shanks, said shanks pressing the leads against the body to hold the condenser in position.

2. In a switch, a body of insulating material, two pairs of contact elements in said body and of which one pair is normally open and the other pair normally closed, one contact element of each of said pairs including a shank, a pocket in said body, a condenser snugly fitting in said pocket, said body including wall portions, leads on said condenser and disposed against said wall portions, and said contact shanks being urged into good electrical engagement with said leads and pressing them against said wall portions to thereby hold the condenser in position.

3. A switch unit comprising a body of insulating material having a plurality of blade-receiving slots therein; a normally open switch at one end and a normally closed switch at the other, the normally open switch comprising a pair of resilient blades having ends forced into the slots to neously operating said movable blade to temporarily close the circuit, the normally closed switch comprising a pair of resilient blades each having one of their ends'forced into slots in the body to frictionally hold the blade therein, at least one of said slots being in substantial alignment with the slots at the other end, the other ends of the blades being in electrical engagement, and a second manually operable meansfor separating said blades to open thecircuit therebetween; a condenser carried by the body and electrically connecting the blades in the aligned slots; means for locking the second manually operable means in open-circuit position; and means ac:- tuated in response to the operation of said first manually operable means for releasing said locking means.

4. A switch unit comprising a body of insulating material having a plurality of blade-receiving slots therein; a pair of normally open switches at one end and a normally closed switch at the other, the normally open switches each comprising a pair of resilient blades having one of their ends forced into the slots to frictionally hold the blades therein, said body having a shoulder to clamp the other end of the outside blade of each switch and hold it against movement, the other ends of the inner blades being movable into enrarily close the circuit, the normally closed switch comprising a pair of resilient blades each having one of their ends forced into slots in the body to irictionally hold the blade therein and the other ends in electrical engagement, and a second manually operable means for separating said blades to open the circuit therebetween; means for looking the second manually operable means inopencircuit position; and means actuated in response to the operation of said first manually operable means for releasing said locking means.

5. A switch unit comprising a body of insulating material having a plurality of blade-receiving slots therein; a pair of normally open switches at one end and a normally closed switch at the other, the normally open switches each compris ing a pair of resilient blades having one of their ends forced into the slots to frictionally hold the blades therein, said body having a shoulder to clamp the other end of the outside blade of each switch and hold it against movement, the other ends of the inner blades being movable into enagement with the outer blades to close the circuit, and manually operable means for simultaneously operating said inner blades to temporarily close the circuit, the normally closed switch comprising a pair of resilient blades each having one of their ends forced into slots in the body in substantial alignment with the outside blades of the normally open switches to frictionally hold the blades therein and the other ends in electrical engagement and a second manually operable means for separating said blades to open the circuit therebetween; means for locking the second manually operable means in open-circuit position; means actuated in response to the operation of said first manually operable means for releasing said locking means, said body having a pair of pockets therein disposed between ends thereof; and a condenser in each pocket having a contact prong pressed into good electrical engagement with one of the aligned blades of the normally open switch and the normally closed switch to connect the same.

6. A switch unit comprising a body of insulating material, switch means at the opposite ends of the body each comprising pairs of contact elements disposed in said body, one pair being norgagement with the outer blades to close the cirmally open and the other normally closed; a condenser supported by the body and extending along the body between the two switch means and be ing connected to a contact of each of said switches; and separate means for actuating each switch.

7. A switch unit comprising a body of insulating material having a pair of normally open' switches at one end and a normally closed switch atthe other, means for actuating the switches, the body between the switches at each end having a pair of pockets therein and a condenser mounted in each pocket to extend between the switches andwonnected to a contact of a switch 

